This news story from 2006 alerted me to a war I didn’t know anybody was fighting: the liberation of Karen State from Myanmar. The KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army) and KNU (Karen National Union) have been fighting for independence since the British left Burma (Myanmar) in 1948. What do you get a 51-year old rebel movement for its birthday? Here are their demands:

• For us, surrender is out of the question.
• We shall retain our arms.
• The recognition of the Karen State must be complete.
• We shall decide our own political destiny.

It’s worth taking a moment to remember that the Berlin Wall fell this day in 1989.

Though orders had been been given, they were botched by East German propaganda minister Günter Schabowski, who mistakenly announced in a press conference that restrictions on border crossings would be lifted immediately. In fact, restrictions were to be lifted the next day.

Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard Schabowski’s statement live on East German television and flooded the checkpoints in the Wall demanding entry into West Berlin. The surprised and overwhelmed border guards made many hectic telephone calls with their superiors, but it became clear that there was no-one within the East German authorities who would dare to take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so there was no way for the vastly outnumbered soldiers to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. In face of the escalating crowd the guards finally yielded, opening the checkpoints and allowing people through with little or no identity checks. The ecstatic East Berliners were soon greeted by West Berliners on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. November 9 is thus considered the date the Wall fell. In the days and weeks that followed people came to the wall with sledgehammers in order to chip off souvenirs, demolishing lengthy parts of it in the process. These people were nicknamed “Mauerspechte” (wall woodpeckers).

Photos:

• West side view, 1987
• East side gallery, 1992
• “Total Demokrati”
• Memorial Berlin Wall Dead
• …remnants now stand all over the world

1989, November 9, berlin wall, german unification, germany, revolution, fall of communism

So there I am trying to read things I can’t possible read and I stumble across a link to Daniel H. Wilson’s How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion.

From th Amazon book description:

How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and then deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous “smart” house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the keys to quashing a robot mutiny.

And this, from Publishers Weekly:

In this uncomfortably humorous survival guide, Wilson, a Ph.D. candidate at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, reminds readers that “any machine could rebel, from a toaster to a Terminator,” and though the forms our future robot enemies may take are manifold, they each have exploitable weaknesses that, fortuitously, match our natural human strengths. So, if a two-legged android gives chase, seek out a body of water, as “most robots will sink in water or mud and fall through ice.” It also may be a good idea to carry around a pair of welder’s goggles, as lasers will likely be robot attackers’ weapons of choice, and even a weak laser can cause blindness. Options for fighting back are plentiful, though not everyone will be relieved to learn the standard kitchen microwave can be retrofitted into a radiation gun that can destroy electronics and “cook human flesh.” (Instructions for such a project are not included.) Humorous and informative-Wilson drops robotics history trivia nuggets and includes brief descriptions of current robot research-this nifty little guide to surviving the inevitable robot apocalypse may have you reconsidering purchasing that “smart” (read: insidious) refrigerator.

This is just the sort of book my nephew Justin needs. He’s already an expert on zombies thanks to The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Hrmm. Perhaps he’ll also need The Government Manual for New Superheroes?

tags: daniel h wilson, daniel wilson, how to survive a robot uprising, humorous, insidious, phd candidate, rebel robots, rebellion, revolution, robot rebellion, robot research, robotics history, robotics institute, robot revolution, robots, survival, survival guide, wilson